Literacy levels falter among -college grads

MARIAD' ALESSANDRO

MANAGDIG EDITOR

MAD724@CABRINI .EDU

American college students are walking away with diplomas but not enough English proficiency, according to the New York Times. The average graduate's English literacy has plummeted in the past ten year~.

The National Assessment of Adult Literacy. a national test that studies the reading levels of Americans, has. found ·'steep declines·· in the English literacy of Hispanics in the U.S. and significant increases" among blacks and Asians.

An elementary and special education major at Cabrini College attributed these literacy problems as the cause for the No Child Left Behind Act. "I guess that is why Bush felt it necessary to enforce this whole [No Child Left Behind] Act. Students who are falling behind in school, charter schools being the worst academically, are finally being held accountable academically and getting held back," Maureen Cooper, a senior elementary and special education major and psychology minor, said.

In comparison to this 2003 test, the last time it was administered, in 1992, 40 percent of college gr.iduates were considered proficient, meaning they had the ability to "read lengthy, complex English texts and draw complicated inferences." In 2003, the literacy proficiency dropped to 31 percent. There were 26.4 million college graduates.

Those who failed the proficiency in 2003 included 53 percent at the intermediate level and 14 percent at the basic level, mf'l'lni P t f'V crn1lcl " f'l'ln ncl

Trashy tabloids and magazines have replaced novels for many college students. helping contribute to the falling level of college literacy levels. understand short, commonplace prose texts:· Three percent of the 2003 report. representing 800,000 Americans, showed "below basic" literacy, demonstrating the inability to locate "easily identifiable information." according to the New York Times.

One Cabrini College student was not aware that the literacy rates were dropping so rapidly. "We as teachers will have to work extra hard to make sure that our students are at a proficient level, because of the No Child Left Behind Act, and so that the future of this country will be able to flourish as we have been able to," Jessica Boettger, a junior elementary education major, said. She said that she learned that students today do have a problem with literacy because they are more focused on TV and video games.

"We're seeing substantial declines in reading for pleasure, and it's showing up in our literacy levels," Grover J. Whitehurst, who worked closely with the Department of Education to oversee the test, said. Whitehurst believes that the drop in literacy

• <; Cl'IIISf'n hv inlf' timf' in front of the television_and computer, Another Cabrini College student, John Pino. an English and secondary education major, was aware of the declining rate. but not among college graduates. "As a future educator, I feel that I am going to have to make sure my students leave my classroom as literate students before they get to college so that they can improve their literacy in a higher education setting and not play catchup," Pino said.

Despite the decline, English literacy has increased among black and Asians from 1992 to 2003. The intermediate or proficient levels of about 29 percent of blacks rose to 33 percent. The bar for Asians rose to 54 percent from 45 percent. The "below basic" level of blacks decreased from 30 percent to 24 percent.

The 11-year span showed a drop in the reading skills of Hispanics. The 35 percent jumped to 44 percent as "below basic" on the scale. The intermediate level dropped six percent by 2003.

"As a future educator this [decline] is very sad, but I don't think all the blame should be placed on the teachers," Cooper teachers out there. It could simply be an undiagnosed child in the classroom. The teacher has to cope with the behavioral issues, but without the rneds, they are unable to stay on task. But then that leads into the whole thin!!that . students are being over diagnosed with disorders like ADD/ADHD." Cooper 5aid.

Leaming Englhh has al~o become more difficult !,ince 1992. "They '[Spanish-language immigrants] are arriving later. staying in the U.S. for a shorter period, and fewer are speaking English at home,"' Mark Schneider. commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, said.

Another test, administered in New York State, along with the 2003 national test, found that those from the Big Apple were less literate in English than their national counterparts. Nineteen percent of New Yorkers scored "below basic," while 14 percent was the national statistic.

"I do know a teacher and one of her eighth graders cannot read. Makes me wonder what is going on at home. She works as much as possible one-on-one to get him up to a reading level closer to his peers. Ultimately, the teacher could be outstanding and find strategies that work well with the student, but if that student remains unmotivated, and the home environment doesn't instill that education is essential in their lives, kids will keep falling through the cracks I guess I'm saying that it's beginning way before rollPPf' " C'oonP. •rniit

TRAFFICKING, page 1

These children are alone, isolated and exploited. In a personal experience that she shared with the audience, Sister Devos described one child that she found as having strangulation marks, cuts from being hit with a broken bottle and human bites all over her body, as well as evidence of sexual abuse.

George Post, a sophomore English and communication major, said, "The presentation opened up my eyes. I knew human trafficking existed and it is definitely something that needs to be stopped."

People are lured by traffickers with the promise of a better life. Traffickers will pay for transportation to another country, under the pretense of getting a better job or a better home. Advertisements for model agencies. travel agencies, employment companies. au pair babysitting services and matchmaking services are used to attract these people. especially women. Families will also sell their own children for money and young women are lured a\\ay \\Ith tile promise of marriage and a stable environment.

The ~nited States government has recognized human trafficking as a major global issue.

On Jan. 10, President Bush signed The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act that renews The Victims of Trafficking and ViolenceAct of 2000 and strengthens efforts to fight human trafficking. According to the U.S. Department of State, this new bill authorizes "$361 million over the next two years to combat human trafficking and protect victn:ns." The money goes towards programs that battle prostitution and towards national, state and local law enforcement for investigating and prosecuting trafficking in the U.S.

The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, an order founded by St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, are also very concerned with this issue and have taken a corporate stance on it.

Sister Devos' goal is to bring awareness to this issue and to put a stop to trafficking children for domestic work. She said, "The force of human exploitation is stronger than us and that is why we must work together. When we work together against human trafficking, we can make a differPnrP"